Game
by x.May-chan.x
Summary: Festival! Lights and sounds, excitement even in the smallest towns. But the plots and ploys of enemies don't end, and Satoshi finds that this applies to his own. But a new predicament arises.... KxS or Naiveshipping, slash content, yadda yadda This one i


A/N: Lalala, the typical, nothing in Pokemon is mine. It's Nintendo's and all that. Ami is but she's minor and insignificant to my life, so take her and do what you will. Kojiro/Satoshi, oh damn, I don't even know. XD Not to be asking, just go with it.

"Waaaii! Matsuri!"

Haruka's eyes glittered happily, as she cupped her gloved hands together and gawked at the lights sparkling against the setting sun's warm but dulling glow. As the rest of the group caught up, all mimicked the reaction excitedly. Not only was it a village (too small to be marked on Takeshi's map but still significant to them) but it was having some sort of cultural celebration. What more could the tired crew of teens and children alive ask for?

"Haha! C'mon!" their spiky-haired leader eagerly jeered, taking a running start with a spark of enthusiasm suddenly appearing at the thought of food. Satoshi could be enthused in the blink of an eye if food was promised, especially after a day of wandering, hungry and fatigued. The rest of the crew followed, yelling after him to slow down, they were tired. Satoshi had not ever been one to listen, even with the maturity he'd gained after years of travel.

"Satoshi, seriously, slow down!" Takeshi warned as he called ahead to the younger male, hands cupped around his mouth to intensify his voice. Satoshi laughed, continuing not to listen as he felt his feet slip out from under him on the slick grass, hill getting too steep to just blindly run over. He tumbled to the bottom, groaning as he looked up at the sky, noting the stars, though they were a spiraling formation, were bright. Night was moments from fully enveloping the sky. He breathed in smoothly, then out once more, shutting his eyes and swallowing the bile the dizziness brought rushing up his throat. He listened to the pounding of footsteps coming down the hill and calls of his name in worry and concern. His dark eyes fluttered open and glanced to them, grin growing on his lips. He sat up and held his now hatless head, groaning again. "Itaaaai…" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head attentively now as he felt a lump growing large and tender under his midnight hair.

"Idiot, we TOLD you not to run," Haruka scolded with fists pressed to her hips, as the resident mother figure a good many times, shaking her head as she stooped down and batted his hand away in agitation. She pressed the uneven hair away and sighed, shaking her head. "You're fine, don't worry. Just a little break in the skin," voice relieved and happiness rejoining her tone, agitation apparently brought on by her worry and as it passed so did her angry tone. Takeshi chuckled at them, reaching into his bag, rummaging and tossing Haruka some ointment.

"Catch!" he warned. She almost missed but it landed clumsily in her gloved palm. She shifted herself then twisted off the cap, moving away the hair again and rubbing the creamy, stinging antibiotic to the bleeding bump on the back of the rambunctious male's head. Satoshi flinched and complained about the slightly painful sensation and was promptly chastised by Haruka pressing down harshly on the wound.

"Kyaa!"

"Nee-chan, you're gonna make it worse!" the youngest of the group complained as he finally caught up, Pikachu having rode on his shoulder for a while now, thankfully. He pouted angrily at her and pushed his glasses up.

"That's what he gets for whining about it when I'm trying to help," Haruka insisted, standing again. Pikachu scampered to its owner's hat and picked it up, waddling back to Satoshi and placing the brim in its mouth. It climbed its way up to his shoulders and put the hat in place, cooing its name quizzically as it leaned over the ebony-haired teen's shoulder and quirked it's head in worry.

"Don't worry, Pikachu, I'm fine," Satoshi reassured cheerily, petting its fluffy yellow head, black-cloth clad palm earning a relieved nuzzle from the little creature. Satoshi glanced around, suddenly. Wait, where had everyone gone?

"SATOSHI! Weren't you the one wanting us to hurry? Come on!" Haruka's voice insisted from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and laughed, standing up and hurrying after them, a little unbalanced at first but soon getting his speed back.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he cheered as he reached his place amongst their traveling troupe.

Once among the small village, their young eyes once again lit up with interest, glancing around and laughing happily upon seeing all the small booths of games and food, shopping and craft making.

" 'Delvil Village Festival'?" Masato's young voice interrupted their amazement as he has caught sight of a banner, head tilting up to glance at the brightly painted cloth strung across the pathway, tied to two roofs on opposite sides of the dirt road.

"That's right!"

"Huh?" all four queried at once. A young woman, hair a honey blonde, emerald eyes shining with enthusiasm. Her dark hands were cupped together, smiling sweetly. A magenta bandana was around her forehead, thigh-long dress a soft shade of blue. A sunflower was placed behind her ear.

And all eyes turned to Takeshi as those same old eyes bloomed pink and heart-shaped, gawking at the beauty in front of him.

"Excuse me, Miss, but I couldn't help but notice you're certainly the bell of the festival! Would you do me the honor of letting me be your humble escort?" he questioned hopefully as he held her hands and continued to look at her with bright and pleading eyes. Masato and Haruka groaned and grabbed the eldest by his ears, dragging him away in over-dramatic tears.

"You're too much, Takeshi…" they complained in unison, looking peeved at his typical antics. Of course, they knew it just would not be Takeshi without him flirting with the nearest beauty in view. Satoshi looked at her with interest, hoping she'd explain. When none came, his curiosity pushed him and he asked what exactly the Festival was celebrating.

"Oh! My, I'm sorry. The Delvil Festival is to honor the pack of Delvil who saved our little town from a fire twenty years ago. Lightning struck a roof and a fire raged over the village, and the Delvil rushed to our aid and helped the villagers out of the flames. So this place was renamed Delvil Village and we hold a festival each year. It's really fun! You should take a look around!" she piped, before pausing a moment and gasped. "Ahhh! I'm so sorry; I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Ami, and I help my father run his inn farther in town. You should stop by, unless you already have a place to stay?"

Takeshi grinned charmingly. "No, not yet. Of course, we'll come to your inn. How could we pass up such a sweet offer from such a beautiful lady? By the way, I'm Takeshi," he said smoothly. The rest stated their names simply, smiling, as they pushed Takeshi out of view. As smooth as he could be, at least. Masato groaned, sometimes wondering how the women they kept coming across could just pass such lame lines off so easily. Ami giggled and nodded.

"Alright! It's called the Red Captain Inn. Come by when you're ready. I need to get back to the inn now, anyway! So I guess I'll see you later!" She waved to them as she sped off. Takeshi waved with a dreamy look as the others waved with enthusiasm. They always seemed to meet nice people wherever they happened to go. Now they knew where they could spend the night. Each was sure that, despite all the attractions of the festival they would all agree to soon turn in. Traveling left them reasonably tired. But for now, some exploration.

Unbeknownst to them, in a tree above, there were lenses of binoculars, three pairs in an almost perfect row. "Soo the twerps are here?" the woman of the group mentioned, sitting back from the opening in the leaves, brushing her fingers through her magenta hair, impossible to get the leaves out of.

"And I'm /sure/ that a festival like this would have PLENTY of stuff to swipe, nya!" the shortest of the trio added, grinning broadly. The last's gaze lingered a little longer, something insignificant to the other two he was with, before he pulled away from the part in the foliage to smirk.

"If we get Pikachu and some valuable things for the boss, we're sure to get a reward! Maybe finally a promotion!" he piped in a hushed tone, looking excited at the opportunity just laid in their palms. "So what's the plan?" the azure-haired man queried, giving them an questioning look. He knew if /he/ came up with a plan they would reject it immediately like always, so best to hear them first.

"Nya, Well/I/ say we d--" the Pokemon started with all his confidence before the woman put her fist to her hip and shouted 'No' which got some outside glances to the tree.

"We /aren't/ digging anything. I am not digging this late, I need my beauty sleep!" Musashi declared.

"Nyu nyaan, you certainly DO need that.. Tons of it," Nyasu grumbled to himself.

"WHAT was that?" Musashi demanded as she made a fist and knocked the Pokemon right off the branch with ferocity at the insult.

"M-Musashi, calm down… uh… well, what's your plan then?" Kojiro stated, looking nervous, not wanting knocked out of the tree too, so he was watching his tongue.

"I say we go into their room and steal Pikachu while their asleep! With their guards down and with how tired they are, they'll be sleeping so deeply they won't even notice!" she said cheerily, attitude doing a three sixty. Nyasu scaled his way back up the tree in time to comment on how lame that plan was, but was promptly punted off the branch again, earning a startled squeal out of Kojiro.

"Ahh, Nyasu, you ok?" he whispered down before grinning with unease at their violent partner and putting his hands together. "Well, I think it's a splendid idea, Musashi! Should we follow them then?" he commented. Musashi nodded, instantly ego-boosted at feeling in charge now.

"Yes, but we'll need to be incognito. So disguises!" she jeered, in a sing-songy voice. Both humans laughed cheerily, as per usual feeling so confident, while their furry companion sweat dropped at how loud they were. Needless to say, festival-goers that had been passing had all stopped to stare curiously at the loud tree in the middle of their town.

"Woow! Haha, I haven't been to a festival in a while!" Satoshi chuckled in wonder as he glanced about the booths, looking for something to catch his eyes. They'd paired into two groups, for Satoshi and Masato were more interested in food at the moment while Haruka and Takeshi had more wanted to shop and play games. So Satoshi, with his beloved Pokemon resting on his shoulder, had taken Masato with him towards what looked more like food booths, the little one's small hand in his gloved one so Haruka's big sister radar wouldn't go off and so the little boy wouldn't get lost amongst the people.

"Heh, I've never been to a festival before." Masato mentioned, looking around with more excitement than he usually portrayed. He liked to stay reserved and act mature, so the others wouldn't pay so much mind to his age, but right now he was too taken in with the wonders of the small celebration.

"Ha, so this is your first time? Let's have fun while it lasts, right?" Satoshi mentioned, grinning down at the short boy as he held his little hand a little tighter. Masato glanced up and blushed a little before giving a bright smile and a laugh.

"Yeah!" he cheered as he noticed a booth had caught Satoshi's eyes.

"But first! Food!" he said enthusiastically as he kicked off the ground and hurried towards the booth almost making the little one fall.

"That's right, that's right, step up! Hot corn on the cob! Barbecue! Sushi! All here!" the two women behind the booth called, one with a long ponytail of bright violet hair and the other with two short pigtails, hair a soft dirty blonde shade. An old man cooked behind the two women, short and turned away from the crowds. Satoshi lifted Masato up so he could sit on the bench that was rather high and ordered them both some food, taking some of Takeshi's almost famous Pokemon food from his pack and asking for a small dish to put it in. "Oooh What an adorable Pikachu!" The violet-haired one piped, earning a squeal of approval from the blonde. The small Pokemon blinked, and cooed 'Chaaa' at the women as pale feminine hands reached and stroked his ears and head. "Kawaii!" the blonde piped. Both ladies exchanged glances and subtle smirks.

"Nyyyaa! Order's up!" he old man stated to them a few minutes afterward. Satoshi paid and thanked them, almost drooling over the food given to him as he started to eat. The violet-haired woman leaned to the old man and whispered, glancing from the man to the teen and child and back. She glared some at the blonde, who's eyes were trapped on the teen.

"Come /here," the violet one demanded, yanking the blonde over by her short skirt hem. The blonde yelped and Masato watched them with suspicion. Something was… weird here. But Satoshi didn't seem too concerned or attentive to it at all. The little boy pressed up his glasses and shrugged, starting to eat as well.

The little boy never lost attention to the women, though, noting that even as they served other costumers, their eyes still slightly watched he, Satoshi and Pikachu. The blonde especially. Something was up, he ate faster, hoping to leave as soon as they could. He really didn't trust these people anymore. He was relieved when Satoshi stood and stretched, then helped Masato down from his seat and took his hand again. Good, now his worry seemed to leave. He heard Satoshi suggest they find his sister and Takeshi, making a turn, heading with a little quickness, Pikachu being their main look out on top of Satoshi's hat. Neither male was that tall, so it wasn't easy to search through to many people.

"Pika pi! Pika!" the little yellow fuzz ball cheered, little pudgy hand pointing forward to the two brunettes playing a ring toss game. Moving their way through the crowd, Satoshi holding Masato's little tan hand a little tighter so as not to lose him.

"Hey, guys, did you get to eat? We found this cute little sushi stand and found out where the hotel was!" Haruka greeted, waving to them as her bright eyes caught sight of them. Satoshi grinned.

"We got barbeque," he replied, hurrying up some as Masato released his hand and ran to his sister, hugging her leg. Haruka grinned.

"Look, otouto-kun, I won a Waninoko plush!" she said cheerily, waving the little stuff toy around. Takeshi looked less than happy, though. Haruka leaned to Satoshi's ear and whispered "He wanted to win Ami something but he lost every time…". Satoshi snickered some and Masato gave a weird look.

"Let's go…" Takeshi sulked, putting his hands in his pockets. Satoshi swayed some.

"Y-Yeah… heh, guess I'm more tired than I thought…" he said, looking to Masato who also seemed to have fatigued quickly. Pikachu cooed and looked a little concerned as it's owner swayed under it. Masato yawned loudly and leaned on his sister.

"Harukaaa…" he complained quietly. Haruka looked to him with concern, picking up her little brother and carrying him.

"Jeez, are you that tired?" she said, blinking, looking to Satoshi who looked about ready to fall over as well. "Aaah, Takeshi, catch him!" she warned. Takeshi nodded and hoisted Satoshi onto his back before the younger teen could fall. Satoshi limply placed his arms around Takeshi's shoulder and leaned his head on his shoulder, looking half asleep, yawning loudly.

"Let's get them to the hotel…" Takeshi remarked, starting to walk. Haruka nodded, following behind at a careful pace. Pikachu moved to sit on Takeshi's other shoulder. The group walked through the crowd, unaware of the feet following theirs a good twenty steps behind.

"Heeey, guys!"

Ami smiled and waved cheerily to the group as they reached the inn and entered. She was dressed in a uniform now, hair in a bun, looking much more like a professional woman. Takeshi smiled with infatuation, dropping Satoshi to run over and cup her hands in his own.

"Ami-chan! As beautiful as ever! You look so gorgeously professional!" he sweet talked, before Haruka grabbed his ear and dragged him away from the confused looking woman.

"Would you cut that out?" she grumbled, letting go once a safe distance away. She walked back to Ami and smiled sweetly. "Aaah, Ami… could you please get us a room?" she requested in the most pleasant way Haruka could muster. Ami smiled brightly and nodded.

"Sure. Room for four?" Ami replied, rummaging under the desk she stood behind. It took her a bit, looking over a list of vacant rooms, perking up as her eyes caught one. "Aha! Room 5-C, up the stairs!" she piped. Haruka smirked.

"Good… Takeshi YOU pay," she said, taking the key Ami held out, grabbing Satoshi's collar and dragging the teen, toting him and her little brother to an old-fashioned elevator, stepping in and pulling her group inside, pressing a button and leaving Takeshi behind. Takeshi yelped and threw the money down, running up the steps.

"Guys wait uup!" he called, running as fast as his legs could carry him to meet them at the top, in case Haruka decided to lock him out as a prank.

He met them at the top before Haruka could take a step, taking Satoshi from her and putting the dozing teen over his shoulder. They walked down the hall in silence, each worrying about the ones they were carrying. Haruka pressed the key into the keyhole, listening to the tumblers and she turned the key over and pressed the door open. "Let's just lay them down…" Takeshi suggested, stepping to one bed and lying the sleeping teen down, "If they aren't better by morning, we'll get them a doctor…"

Pikachu hopped down, nuzzling up to Satoshi, and curling up in his arms to sleep, not wanting to leave his master alone in case there really was something wrong. Haruka set her brother on a bed and laid with him.

"I'll sleep with him, in case he gets worse or something…" she muttered quietly, stroking her little brother's hair and plucking off his glasses. Takeshi took one of the leftover beds, lying down and muttering a goodnight to Haruka, who yawned it in return. Peace settled over the travelers as sleep overtook their weary bodies in it's inviting arms.

Patience, jobs like this took patience. The group of thieves waited a good half hour until they made their way from the tree they roosted in to watch over the room, to the window. Wedging the window open, they slipped in, tiptoeing to the bed where the Pikachu resided, all stepping in some accidental coordination. Nyasu climbed onto the bed, rubber gloves on his paws, blinking as he tried to pull Pikachu from its owner's grasp. No luck. And again. Still no budge from the cling Satoshi had around Pikachu.

"Nyyaa, it isn't working," Nyasu muttered in a hushed tone. Satoshi turned and all three jumped, looking frightful as it seemed the trainer would awake. A yawn left the teens mouth but no further stirring was done. So the food plan had worked. But this was a dilemma. All three team members grabbed onto Pikachu and yanked to get the creature out. Satoshi held tighter and Pikachu started to squirm and stir from sleep. "Gaaah, just bring the kid, nya! Quick, nyan nya!" Nyasu said in a panic, Kojiro and Musashi both grabbing Satoshi, Kojiro taking his feet, Musashi holding up his top half, and toting him from the room in a hurry, noting they were seeing the others stir as well. Almost dropping him, they slipped Satoshi with his Pikachu still in grasp out of the window and into the tree, shutting the window almost too quickly and causing a bang.

"Aahhh! Let's get out of here!" Kojiro shouted, rushing the others down the tree and into their vehicle which they'd stolen earlier that day. The placed Satoshi in back. Kojiro and Musashi climbed into the front seats, Musashi at the wheel, and Nyasu scrambled into the back with the sleeping teen, getting rope and continuing to try and pry Satoshi

"PHEW! That was a close one, nyan nyaa," Meowth sighed, looking agitated at Satoshi as the boy cuddled the yellow fluff ball more. Oh jeez, what a pain! He grumbled and continued to try and pry the Pokemon from his owner.

"Did you get it YET, Nyasu?" Musashi huffed as she drove, heading up the mountain that the Satoshi-tachi had come down from that day. Backtracking for their unwilling unwanted excess cargo.

"Nyu… nothing yet…. ARGH!" Nyasu spat, claws popping out, nails clawing across Satoshi's face with his fury swipes attack. "Stupid twerp!" he said in agitation.

"AUGH!" Satoshi groaned, holding his face, stirred away from the tainted food's effects and flinching in pain.

"HAHA!" Nyasu cheered in victory, grabbing Pikachu and hopping to the front, placing it in a cage that was on the floor at Kojiro's feet.

"What…. Where am I-- ROCKETTO-DAN!" Satoshi shouted in surprise, pointing to the front, glaring, angered. "Where's Pikachu, dammit!" he demanded, going to his belt to try and release one of his Pokemon. If they could stop the drivers, then he could resolve this easier. Nyasu yelped in surprise and bit onto Satoshi's hand. The teen started flailing his arm frantically. "ITATATATATA!" Satoshi cried, shaking his hand, trying to get the cat-like creature off his palm. Nyasu grumbled at Kojiro to help, loudly, in sheer aggravation. Kojiro fumbled to crawl to the back, snatching up the rope and struggling to tie it around Satoshi, finding it hard with the boy flailing to get Nyasu off. It took effort, but soon the rope was wrapped firmly around the frantic ebony-haired male and a tight knot was tied, keeping the still squirming teen in place. "Let me go! Gimme back Pikachu!" he demanded.

"No way, kid. We're actually succeeding this time! The boss will be so pleased! Don't worry, we'll let you go once you aren't a possible threat to our success anymore," Musashi replied, waggling a finger, glancing to the fuming Satoshi in the rear view mirror. "For now, calm down, and you'll be fine. As for Pikachu, that cutie's ours now!" she cheered, giggling as she kept driving. The whole crew began to sing a little ditty of victory, but Satoshi's dark eyes trailed to the window to watch the passing scenery. 'Pikachu…' he thought in the back of his mind, sighing. Kojiro glanced to him, frowning some, but only let this pass by a moment, grinning again and singing with the other as if no sympathy had sprung to mind.

Satoshi jumped as they halted, looking to the crew as they started to pull things from the car, including the cage that held Pikachu.

"C'mon, twerp." Satoshi looked to Kojiro who was tugging him by the bindings out of the car from the opposite door. He growled low in his throat as he was carried to a hut by both human teammates again, apparently some abandoned place they'd found they could sleep inside. So here was where he was being put? Great… it was dark, cold and he was being put in a hut as opposed to the warm inn. He glanced to Nyasu, who was toting Pikachu in the cage over his head, a sad look on his face. He had to think of how to get out of this. The other's would worry, Pikachu would be taken away and just a huge dilemma would be caused. Someway to get out. He kept wriggling against the restraints, though he knew it wouldn't do him any good. Even if he could knock himself out of their grasps, he was still bound up tight and it would take too long to get free and rescue his little companion. He sighed, shutting his dark eyes, concentrating. Was there anything he could do?… Yes, there always was a chance. He was a great trainer, he'd gotten out of other problems before, this was no different. He never gave up. This just took quicker and more thorough thinking. Even if he wasn't the best person at coming up with escape plans.

He heard the door click and swing behind his head as, who he suspected was, Nyasu opened the door for the human partners in crime toting him. Nyasu could easily set Pikachu down but if Satoshi were released, he could easily worm himself away. So sometimes they were smart? Damn, what a time for this trio to grow a brain. One, that was right. It was too much to ask three of them from the bumbling villains. A light was flicked on and shattered the darkness that had befallen the world, enshrouded to this little musky hut with the curtains that were threading and encasing the light as much in the small, empty house as it could. He was let go of by the wall, dropping and hitting a little harder than he'd hoped. "Oof," he groaned, bottom hitting the floorboards. They could be a little more careful, at least. He sat against the wall, eyes following them as they set Pikachu in it's cage on the floor in the corner, putting some food in for it and water. After all, he guessed, they just wanted it stolen but not harmed. Always for some 'boss' or something. It never seemed that they were successful, so just how were they still in this crime organization anyway?

"Oohoo! Chock one up for Rocketto-dan!"

Satoshi glanced over to Musashi, who stretched her arms over her head and smiled brightly in accomplishment. "Let's see that stupid Yamato call us failures now!" she said, grinning with some malice, dirt mixed in with their already filthy victory. Kojiro grinned, taking her hands and nodding with enthusiasm.

"We'll get promotions! A raise!" he piped in with a giddy tone. Nyasu hopped up, looking wistful.

"My spot back in the lap of luxury, nyan! Away from you losers, nyan nya!" he swooned in his elation. Both humans punted the cat-like creature into the opposite wall.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING LOSERS? YOU'RE THE LOSER!" the shouted in anger and in unison. Satoshi resisted laughing at them. What kind of villainous adults were they anyway? No.. he had to /think/.

Nyasu smirked. "Well… ya know… nya, since we are near a town, they've gotta have stuff worth swiping, nyan nyu. I'm sure if we went down there we'd get a bundle of stuff! Even from a tiny town like this! Nya, we're on a good luck streak, after all! Nyaa we shouldn't waste it!" he remarked, grinning.

"Yes… but…" Musashi started, placing her hand to her chin and looking thoughtful. "We can't just leave the twerp here… he'll get out… he did LAST time, remember?" she commented, glaring a little to Satoshi.

"So one of us has to stay?" Kojiro whined in complaint.

"Guess so…." Satoshi heard Nyasu mutter first as all gained looks of deep concentration.

A silence fell over them.

"NOT IT!"

Satoshi stared, looking confused at how immature they were. Just who /were/ these weirdoes he'd been chased after by all these years?

"Well I'M not doing it! I'm the mastermind here!" Musashi scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"YOU? The MASTERMIND? NYAAN yeah right! I'm the genius here, and besides, I ALWAYS get stuck watching Pikachu!" Nyasu replied, turning his back and crossing his arms.

"But /I/ always get stuck with the lousy jobs!" Kojiro complained, stomping a foot. The trio argued all at once, words unintelligible as a jumbled mess before Musashi socked them both into the floorboards.

"QUIET! We'll handle this like true Rocketto-dan…" she reached into her pocket, which Satoshi wasn't even aware she had, and pulled out three straws, all looking even while gripped in her gloved palm. "We will draw straws!" she declared.

"How do we know you didn't rig it, nyaaan?" Nyasu grumbled, looking at her hand scrutinizing.

"Why would /I/ rig something? I'm a perfectly honest crooked villain!" the woman declared confidently. Nyasu and Kojiro exchanged glances of doubt. Severe doubt. Anyone could tell, and Musashi was part of that 'anyone'.

"JUST DO IT!"

"Yes ma'am!" both male teammates said instantly, each taking a straw from her hand. The each examined their straws, then compared them to each other's with eyes paying attention to every millimeter of length on the straws. "Hahaha! Kojiro, looks like it's YOU!" Musashi mocked, laughing into the back of her palm. Nyasu snickered.

"Weeeell, Koji, nyyaan, good luck watching over the brat while we go get some loot!" he remarked, teasing the man as well. Kojiro sulked, frowning, looking at the straw.

"Just my luck…" he groaned. Musashi grinned with fake brightness as she pranced out the door.

"I'd LOVE to sit by and watch you mope more, Kojiro, but WE'VE got a job to succeed at! Do a good guard job…" she looked vicious now. "OR ELSE," she barked. Nyasu chuckled and followed Musashi out the door. Kojiro groaned again, looking out the window.

"Not faaair! Musashi, you cheated, I know you did!" he whined out the window, lips in a pout. Satoshi quirked a brow. What had he just WITNESSED?

And so a silence settled. Kojiro sat against the wall, glancing to the moon out the window. Satoshi looking at the floor, angry and upset, squirming harshly every so often against the ropes. Pikachu slept still, for now. Every time Satoshi would start to squirm and fight the ropes hopelessly, Kojiro's ivy green eyes would trail over to glance at him, with boredom at first, chin in his gloved palm, a small pout on his lips. Though, as he noticed a cringe would more and more curl onto Satoshi's face. He sighed, looking a little concerned. "If you keep struggling like that, you'll hurt yourself," he pointed out, looking more attentive as Satoshi continued to squirm and fight the restraints.

"Why do you keep doing that if you know it's useless?"

"Because I have to do SOMETHING," Satoshi snapped back, looking up in agitation. "Why do YOU guys keep bothering me? It's been six years, why don't you ever give it a rest?" the teen demanded as he kept squirming. Kojiro blinked and shrugged, standing as he stepped to the other side of the room, rummaging in a bag and pulling out a mirror. A small comb was produced from the bag and he sat in front of it with crossed legs, combing his azure hair with delicate strokes.

"Because your Pikachu is valuable," he finally replied, the teenager not looking convinced at the man's words.

"I'm sure there's things more valuable to your boss or whatever, so what's the real reason?" Satoshi growled, watching the man with contempt. All these teammates were so sure of themselves.

"I told you already," Kojiro grumbled, "maybe it's just the chase. I don't know, but they're always so intent on going after your Pikachu. I usually go along with plans, I guess. Besides, it's a challenge… well not /anymore," he smirked.

"You're not evil, though… I've /watched/ you. None of you are, but you're the least intent on doing any of this… so why are you with them, anyway?" Satoshi questioned, voice a little calmer. Kojiro's smirk twitched.

"Because this is my job, twerp, doesn't matter if I like it or not," Kojiro snapped, pause in combing his hair passing, continuing to brush, seeming to count strokes. "But if you don't LIKE it why DO it?" Satoshi grumbled, quirking a brow. Rocketto-dan was always so frustrating to deal with.

"It's an escape…"

"An escape? From WHAT?" Satoshi said in disbelief and continuing aggravation.

"From a life I don't want. It's NONE of your business, boy," Kojiro snapped, looking over with a glare. It was hard to be convinced the man was made, though, because there was always a sad little waver to the pout in his lips. Satoshi tilted his head.

"It's THAT BAD that you'd join Rocketto-dan? Even though you don't like it?" he said, less angry, more curious. Kojiro crinkled his nose and stood up. Stepping over he smacked his hand to the wall over Satoshi's head, leaning down to glare him in the eyes, the other hand to his hip.

"You ask too many questions, twerp," he said, annoyed clearly, but he never seemed fully /angry/. Satoshi glared right back in retaliation.

"Because I want to know why Pikachu and I are here!" he demanded, though he knew he'd had it explained quite a few times now.

"Because it's va-"

"Don't' tell me that again, it's not true! Why keep after us!" Satoshi interrupted, squirming some again, overly excited by his aggravation. He flinched as the rope started to hurt again. Kojiro sighed and smiled a little.

"I told you, kid, you're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that," he remarked. Satoshi shot up a mad look.

"Why would YOU care? You won't even give me a straight answer!" he shouted, not caring that it probably hurt Kojiro's ears, being right there.

"Why do /I/ care?" Kojiro repeated, pointing to his own chest.

"That's what I /said," Satoshi shot back, glaring more. Kojiro chuckled, shaking his head.

"Twerp, if only you /knew," he replied, smirking. Always a fiery temper, since day one, this kid had.

"Knew what? Tell me! Answer me, dammit!" he demanded. Kojiro grinned more, amused.

"You really want to know?"

"YES!"

"You sure?"

"Answer already!"

But he didn't /get/ an answer. Again, no straight answer, everything always so ambiguous with Rocketto-dan. Like the lips that were pale and soft and met his own, a mystery that even when solved dug up a thousand more questions. Satoshi's eyes were shocked; wide and dilated in confusion as his first real kiss was stolen right out from under his nose with no prior warning. He with no way to pull out of it and no chance to retaliate, which he wasn't sure he'd be capable of under any circumstances in this situation. But the lips left and only the linger of roses was left behind.

"Question answered, bouyo?" Kojiro remarked, smirk wide, brow quirked. Even in his recovery, Satoshi could see the smugness was less than confident compared to how pronounced it was.

"W-What…?" the teen stammered, dark eyes blinking, as if he'd just imagined the whole happening. "Why… did you…?" he muttered, looking shell-shocked still. Kojiro chuckled.

"It isn't obvious?" the man remarked, shrugging his shoulders.

"N-No… I mean… but…" Satoshi continued to stammer, blushing and shaking his head a little.

"You. Interest. Me. That simple. That's why I go along with the plans," he added, gloved fingers tracing under the teen's chin to which the ebony haired one bit his lip and blushed more.

"But… I-I'm… a b-- why /me?" he demanded, voice coming back to it's bearings, confidence gradually returning.

"You're cute, amusing, fierce and you have admirable ambition. A lot more ambition and goals than I could ever hope to have. What's not to like? You're still as naïve as the day we came across you, did you know that about yourself? You act like you've never been kissed," he pointed out, chuckling.

"I /haven't/ though. Not like that!" Satoshi shot back, face still pinked with embarrassment.

"Then I'm glad to be your first," the azure-haired man returned, smiling with less shadows and more sunlight. "Is it so bad? The thought of me?" Kojiro added, looking unsure now. Satoshi saw so much crossing Kojiro's face every time he was around.

"I don't know… but you're my enemy right…? Or… argh, this is confusing!" Satoshi complained, sounding childish. Kojiro laughed more.

"Ignore that… and think… is it so bad?" he pointed out, dotting Satoshi on the nose with his index finger.

"I… never thought about it before… someone liking me… especially not… /you/…" the boy admitted, confidence dropping, smiling with unease as he thought.

"In that sense? Does it matter? You can't say you don't find it a little enticing… I've seen you around that Shigeru boy in your town, other times even. Unless you're as oblivious as you act, you know you feel something for him… but /he/ doesn't want you and /I/ do…" he remarked, full on smiling with cheer as he waggled his finger from side to side. "And I've seen you watch me in my skirts," he teased in an almost songlike tone. Satoshi grumbled and blushed more.

"I guess… not…." he mumbled, looking away, not totally sure either way. This was all too complicated to figure out right away.

Kojiro grinned. "Heh, too much for you, kid? Ah, you're still a little twerp, even now, huh?" Kojiro stuck out his tongue, teasing. That smirk glided right back onto the man's pale lips. "Just go with the flow for now…" Kojiro suggested, tone a little quieter. He leaned on his palms again, gloved hands on Satoshi's knees and took the lips again. Satoshi stared again, shocked again for a moment before shutting his eyes. Go with the flow? So easy to say, less to do, he could even tell with the other as Kojiro fumbled along to lead Satoshi into the kiss. It was funny, it wasn't like a fluttering in his stomach, or a sinking of disgust, but a mellow feel of comfort. Comfort? Well, maybe that was it. The azure head tilted and let the kiss get more involved, putting a cloth-clad palm to Satoshi's cheek to keep him from shying away. Like he could with the ropes there. Kojiro was almost thankful for the restraints now, it made it all so much easier to ease the other into. He almost felt like laughing as he dipped his tongue into the young mouth and felt a sharp breath draw into Satoshi's nose in surprise. Kojiro /had/ kisses like this by the time he was Satoshi's age, even more than that! How funny it was that the teen had been so involved in a goal so far that he'd progressed no where else. Endearingly, Satoshi fumbled to try to figure out what Kojiro was doing and copy it, knowing from some of the soft laughs that he was CLEARLY being mocked for not knowing a damn thing. But as those lips moved from his mouth to his throat, Satoshi squirmed and a squeak left him.

That did it.

Kojiro pulled back and covered his mouth, laughing heartily. Satoshi hopped a little wear he sat, looking very peeved.

"HEY, don't laugh at me!" he complained, looking annoyed again. Kojiro wiped his eye and kept giggling some.

"I can't help it, you're so cute! It's funny, you really don't know anything do you?" Kojiro replied, in almost a coo. Satoshi dipped his head down and blushed.

"Gaaah… stop it!" he pointed out.

Kojiro looked to him with a smile, then glanced outside. He noted the sky, how much the moon had moved.

"They'll be back soon…" he muttered, looking to Satoshi and the Pokemon in the cage that was starting to awake. "I'm going to do you a favor… this /one/ time…" Kojiro remarked, looking back to Satoshi, scooting the teen so his back was away from the wall. "I'm going to let you go. Why let the chase end now?" he pointed out. Satoshi gave a puzzled look.

"Is this all like a game to you?" he mumbled, squirming some as he felt the knot start to loosen as Kojiro undid it.

"Yeah… a game… that's it…" he said, a little quieter than he'd meant to. His life was kind of like a game, wasn't it? He kept qorking the knot loose, but couldn't resist taking the visible skin of the tan neck in front of him in his lips. He resisted laughing again as he heard the gasp and felt the shudder under the ropes at the contact. So naïve, even after all these years. He suckled the skin, teeth lightly grazing and he felt the teen squirm more as the ropes loosen. The ropes fell and Kojiro replaced them with his arms, being gentle, supposing the ropes had burned the bare arms some. He felt a little bad, wasting Satoshi's escape time but didn't mind being a little selfish for the moment as he held the smaller back close against his chest and pressed kisses up the left side of his throat. Kojiro smirked a little against Satoshi's ear. "Go on and get the key… open Pikachu's cage and I'll make sure they don't come… of course there's the back door to take if you're not as dumb as you act… Just go straight down and you'll be right back in the village… I'm a good liar, I can get myself out of trouble with the others…" he mumbled, a little reluctant to let the other go as his teeth lightly grazed their way up the tan ear. Satoshi nodded to him, drawing in a shaking breath, sure his face was equivalent to a beet right now.

"Pikaaaa…" Pikachu complained as it awoke fully and glanced around for Satoshi. Kojiro let go with some hesitation, and Satoshi and he both stood, Kojiro going to the window to watch the night, Satoshi moving to the dresser and taking the odd card he supposed was the 'key' to the electric-proof cage. It was safe to assume it was electricity-proof, given almost all of Rocketto-dan's items were by now. He unlocked the box and Pikachu jumped into his arms.

"Pikachu," Satoshi cooed happily, nuzzling the little yellow creature.

"Chaaa…" it cooed back in affection, licking its owner's cheek.

"Go on and go, they're probably coming soon," Kojiro urged, glancing over, noting he saw some lights that were not from the village below approaching. Satoshi glanced to him with a little sadness. Why did he suddenly not want to leave? He shook his head, getting the - as he dubbed it - stupid thought out of his head. He walked to the door, feeling the ivy green eyes watching his back. The door clicked open and Satoshi set Pikachu down.

"Hey, buddy…. Get a head start, ok?" Satoshi said, a little too soft for his usual attitude as he stepped back in, walking over to Kojiro who'd glanced back to the window as soon as Satoshi had turned back around. Kojiro was just hoping he was a good of a liar as he claimed to be. Satoshi got up on tiptoe and pressed his lips chastely to Kojiro's, which Kojiro deemed with a little shock of his own.

"Let's continue this 'game'… okay?"

Kojiro smirked lightly and stroked the tan one's cheek with a feather light touch.

"Yeah, let's continue…"

Satoshi turned again, and the door finally shut. Kojiro sat on the sill of the window, looking at the lights that kept growing brighter, adding more light to the bright inside of the hut.

He smirked lightly.

"Oh what a game it is…"


End file.
